Sarries’ aerial prowess can give them a winning edge in defence and attack

Will Greenwood pinpoints the key strengths and attributes of the respective teams in this afternoon’s Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham

So much has been written about Saracens over the past weeks, months, years; how they have developed into this unstoppable winning machine. The Wolf Pack. But I think Exeter give them a pretty good run for their money in most departments. Both teams are rock solid at the set-piece. Both have impressive line-out statistics. Both have huge physicality. Both possess individual match winners.

I think both have one Unique Selling Point, though; one area where their superiority over the other could prove decisive. And for Saracens it is their aerial prowess.

Their dominance in this area has become almost total. And that is in attack or defence. Saracens’ kick-to-compete, their kick chase. It is like they have the ball on a string. It is next level stuff. Partly, of course, that is down to the players they have at their disposal.

When you have a back three of Liam Williams, Sean Maitland and Alex Goode, all of whom are totally comfortable climbing in traffic, you are going to win your fair share of high balls.

And when they are chasing down kicks by the likes of Richard Wigglesworth, Ben Spencer and Owen Farrell, all of whose kicks are usually bang on the money, you are going to give your opponents plenty of headaches.

But it is not just about individuals, it is about coaching. And Saracens really have worked at this part of their game. You often hear coaches in football talk about “winning the second ball” and it is no different in rugby.

When Saracens launch a high ball, or defend one, they now almost deploy a 360-degree slip cordon around the drop zone. They surround the ball. In doing so, they give themselves the best possible chance of regaining possession. It

sounds easy but it is not. It requires incredible organisation off, positional awareness, work rate. If you do not get it right, you will find yourself out of position and bang in trouble.

Saracens’ mastery of the aerial game in their semi-final win over Gloucester last weekend was extraordinary. Ironically, they dropped the ball straight from the kick-off and Gloucester scored within two phases (even more surprising is that it was George Kruis who dropped it, because he is on another planet at the moment). But other than that, Saracens’ control of the skies, in attack and defence, was exemplary.

Almost straight from the restart after Ben Morgan’s try, Saracens scored one of their own as Williams kept the ball alive from the kick-off, leading to Maitland scoring from a Farrell grubber kick.

It is not just in the air that Saracens are deadly with the boot.

Saracens are so good knowing when to take which option. They have taken a particular shine to the so-called “double box kick” recently. I love a good double box kick. It was something Robert Jones first introduced for Wales in the late 1980s. It feels counterintuitive because if you regain possession from your first box kick, and you have your opposition on the ropes, why not try to land a knockout blow? I get that. But when your kicks are like forward passes, and you have such good chasers, and you are so confident of winning the second ball, why not really put them on the ropes?

Conversely, when Gloucester tried kicking last weekend they found Maitland, Goode and Williams in irrepressible form.

The lesson? Basically if either team kick the ball then Saracens will win.